The first participant to test out a vaccine against coronavirus disease will undergo a clinical trial on the 16th of March at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, according to the Association Press (AP). Amidst the international outcry on the COVID-19 pandemic, we welcome positive news like this with open hands.
The testing plan will kick off with 45 young, healthy volunteers with different doses of shots co-developed by National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc. The goal is purely to check that the vaccines show no worrisome side effects, setting the stage for larger tests. And so, the shot doesn’t contain COVID-19, hence no risk of the participants to get infected.
The move has not been publicly announced; the official who revealed plans for the first participant spoke on condition of anonymity to AP.
Even if initial safety tests go well, “you’re talking about a year to a year and a half” before any vaccine could be ready for widespread use, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Although it will take up to 18 months to validate any vaccine, it’s somehow reassuring to see that solutions fighting the COVID-19 are on the rise.
In fact, this research group from the United States is not the only one working towards finding a vaccine against this novel virus. Dozens of groups around the world are racing to find solutions as the number of COVID-19 cases increases. “Some researchers even aim for temporary vaccines, such as shots that might guard people’s health a month or two at a time while longer-lasting protection is developed,” the AP report read. Here's to more small steps!
